diff --git a/src/helpers/CommonCLI.cpp b/src/helpers/CommonCLI.cpp
index 32527a2f..2bafd5f9 100644
--- a/src/helpers/CommonCLI.cpp
+++ b/src/helpers/CommonCLI.cpp
@@ -199,9 +199,8 @@ void CommonCLI::handleCommand(uint32_t sender_timestamp, const char* command, ch
       } else if (memcmp(config, "freq", 4) == 0) {
         sprintf(reply, "> %s", StrHelper::ftoa(_prefs->freq));
       } else if (memcmp(config, "public.key", 10) == 0) {
-        char pub_key_hex[PUB_KEY_SIZE * 2 + 1];
-        mesh::Utils::toHex(pub_key_hex, _mesh->self_id.pub_key, PUB_KEY_SIZE);
-        sprintf(reply, "> %s", pub_key_hex);
+        strcpy(reply, "> ");
+        mesh::Utils::toHex(&reply[2], _mesh->self_id.pub_key, PUB_KEY_SIZE);
       } else if (memcmp(config, "role", 4) == 0) {
         sprintf(reply, "> %s", _callbacks->getRole());
       } else {